Novantinoe pilithorax Lingafelter, 2024

Novantinoe pilithorax Lingafelter , new species

( Fig. 1 View Figure 1 )

Diagnosis. This is the third species of Novantinoe known from the West Indies ( Bezark 2024). It is distinctive due to the short pubescence around the pronotal calli and tubercles and coating much of the elytra. The other two West Indian species, Novantinoe puertoricensis (Lingafelter and Micheli) and N. darlingtoni (Fisher) , both have nearly glabrous pronota and elytra.

Description. Holotype male. 11.3 mm long; 2.2 mm wide at humeri. Color: Integument pale orange to light reddish brown; head, pronotum, antennae, apical half of meso- and metafemora, and elytral humeri slightly darker than remainder of dorsum.

Head. Mostly shining, impunctate, glabrous. Antennal tubercles weakly protruding with subacute apieces, connected by gently concave ridge at midline. Eyes large, coarsely faceted, with shallow, weak indentation around antennal insertion; eye lobe extends from the vertex nearly to the ventral margin of head when viewed laterally. Upper eye lobes as far apart as greatest thickness of scape. Antennae slender in both sexes, extending beyond elytral apex by about four antennomeres in male and three in female. Scape long and slender, gradually expanded at apex where it is approximately twice as thick as base; extending to lateral pronotal tubercles in both sexes. Scape and each antennomere 3–5 subequal in length; remaining antennomeres successively slightly shorter. Antennomere 11 slightly curved and narrowed at apex in male, straighter and thicker at apex in female. Antennae covered dorsally with very fine, short, translucent golden pubescence, slightly longer towards apex of antennomeres. Ventrally, antennomeres 3–10 have very long, golden pubescence (more pronounced in males) that coalesce into wavy extensions protruding beyond the apex of the antennomeres ( Fig. 1e View Figure 1 ). Maxillary palpus long, approximately half length of head; apical palpomere thickened sub-apically in male ( Fig. 1c View Figure 1 ); gradually tapering at apex in female ( Fig. 1d View Figure 1 ).

Thorax. Pronotum ( Fig. 1b View Figure 1 ) with elongate-oval median callus surrounded by 4 round peripheral calli and two broad-based, triangular, lateral tubercles projecting at middle; constricted collar at basal and apical fifths with sparse, long, erect setae. Calli and tubercles mostly shiny, impunctate, and glabrous; depressed regions around calli darker brown with short, translucent golden pubescence mostly covering small punctures. Elytra at base much broader than pronotum; coarsely, deeply punctate, mostly in rows continuing to just beyond middle and abruptly terminating except for a few rows that incompletely continue to apical third. Elytra mostly shiny and glabrous at base (including scutellum) with short, appressed, translucent golden setae beginning at basal third and becoming denser and more conspicuous on apical half; lateral margins with longer erect and suberect setae. Elytral apex obliquely produced apicolaterally, lacking spines. Elytra gradually narrowed to apex from humeri. Legs pale orange except for darker apical halves of middle and hind femora. Femora weakly enlarged just beyond middle. Metafemora not extending beyond apical fourth of elytra. Thoracic venter slightly darker reddish brown than dorsum; covered in fine, appressed pubescence which is denser at lateral margins of meso- and metathorax. Prosternal process very narrow, not expanded at apex; procoxal cavities open posteriorly by more than half the width of procoxa. Mesosternal process broad between coxae, over one-half as broad as mesocoxa. Metasternal sulcus pronounced, attaining anterior third of metasternum.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 2–5 very narrow and tubular in male; much broader in female.

Type material. Holotype (male): DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Pedernales Province, Sierra de Baoruco, Las Abejas , 9 Aug. 1999, 1250 m, 18°09.023′N; 71°37.387′W, M. A. Ivie and K. A. Guerrero ( USNM) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: all DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: San Juan Province, Sierra de Neiba, trail to Sabana de Silencio , 11 km SSW of El Cercado, 1700–1900m, 18°39.427′N ; 71°32.457′W, 12 July 2006, M. L. Chamorro (1 male, USNM) ; Pedernales Province,

ca. 35 km N Cabo Rojo, Las Abejas, 1250 m, 26 August – 9 September 1988, M. A. Ivie, T. K. Phillips, and K. A. Johnson, Malaise trap (1 female, WIBF).

Etymology. The epithet pilithorax refers to the prevalent pubescence over much of the pronotum.

CERAMBYCIDAE Latreille, 1802 CERAMBYCINAE Latreille, 1802 TILLOMORPHINI Pascoe, 1869 Calliclytus Fisher, 1932